


Observant

by laurus_nobilis



Category: Cardcaptor Sakura
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-03
Updated: 2012-12-03
Packaged: 2017-11-20 05:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/581583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laurus_nobilis/pseuds/laurus_nobilis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Touya makes an important discovery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Observant

Touya didn't remember the first time he had seen a ghost. He supposed they had always been there, a constant presence around him, since the days before he was able to tell what they were.

He did remember the first time he had realized that there was something strange about the people and things he saw. He was still a very young boy back then, small enough to play in the park under his mother's vigilant gaze.

Most of the children liked to play together, but Touya was different. Many times, he simply sat under a tree, talking with a boy who looked around his age. His mother watched him and smiled, so he knew that it was all right.

The problems started when the rest of the children noticed this. Their playful laughter turned into snickers, and Touya looked up to see one of his preschool classmates, Yuichi, staring at him.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I'm talking to my friend,” said Touya. The boy sitting next to him suddenly looked very sad. “Leave us alone.”

“You have an imaginary friend!” Yuichi laughed. Touya jumped up, furious.

“That's not true! He's real!”

“Liar!”

Touya's only answer was a well-aimed punch on the face.

After that, everything happened very fast. Yuichi looked as if he was about to cry, but he punched him back instead, and next thing he knew they were rolling on the ground and throwing kicks at each other. It was only a matter of seconds until the adults arrived to separate them. Touya looked around for his friend, but he had disappeared.

His parents rarely scolded him, but this time he earned a stern reprimand. His mother gave him a very serious talk as they walked home. She wouldn't even listen to his excuses.

“It doesn't matter why you did it,” she told him. “It doesn't even matter if you were right. You must never hurt other children.”

“He called me a liar,” Touya insisted. “But I was telling the truth. I was talking to my friend.”

His mother's face relaxed, and she put a hand on top of his head.

“I know,” she said. “I could see him, too.”

He looked up at her, confused. That was a strange way to say it... but it made sense. Suddenly, in a flash of understanding, he realized why those children had laughed at him.

“They couldn't see him?” he asked in awe.

“No. Very few people can,” his mother explained. Then she smiled at him for the first time since the fight. “You and I can see many things that others can't, Touya.”

“Really?” he whispered. She nodded in silence.

For a few moments, he didn't speak, just thinking. He had never imagined that some people might be missing some of the things that he saw. And how was he supposed to figure out which ones did they notice and which ones not? Perhaps he should ask his mother about it. She would know.

But he had another question first, one about his friend.

“Was he a ghost?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “I'm sure it made him very happy to talk to you.”

Touya didn't say anything else until they arrived home. There were many things he needed to think about.

He didn't get away from doing extra chores as a small punishment, but he understood it better now. His mother was right. He couldn't go around hitting people just because they didn't see everything the way he did.

The best thing to do, he decided, was not to mention it to anyone unless he was sure that they would understand. It wasn't something to be ashamed of, but it wasn't something to brag about, either. He was just... different. During the years after that, very few people were let in on his secret. Only those he trusted the most found out about his powers. He didn't talk much in general, and even less about this.

There were times, however, when Touya wondered if silence truly was a good choice. There were those strange presences dwelling on the basement, for example. They had been there for a long time, and he had let them be.

Only when they moved to Sakura's bedroom did he ask himself if he should have talked.


End file.
